Follow UsEngland all-rounder Ben Stokes announced his retirement from One-Day Internationals (ODI) last year, but head coach Matthew Mott is keen to have him back in the side for the World Cup in October-November in India. Stokes suffered a knee injury in New Zealand in February this year and, as a result, missed the majority of the matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
However, he led England in the Ashes recently but restricted himself only to batting and sent down just 29 overs across five Tests. Mott believes Stokes brings in a lot just with the bat and his commitment on the field. However, there is good news for the defending champions as pacer Jofra Archer too is on his way to recover before the World Cup.
"Jos will probably lead the way on that communication, but Ben’s pretty straight with all of us," Matthew Mott said.
"We will see if he’s keen. There has not been a clear direction on what he’s going to do yet, but we are still hopeful. I’ve always said his bowling would be a bonus, but just look at what he brings with the bat, even in the field.
"Watching him throughout the Ashes series, he had such a great presence. He’s done it for years when it comes to performing in one-day cricket, and so he’s an invaluable commodity."
Stokes was the hero of the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand, claiming the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten 84 as England went on to win their maiden title.
England also received a huge boost when Sussex coach Paul Farbrace confirmed that Archer is on course to be available for the World Cup. Archer bowled the Super Over in the 2019 final that took England over the line by the barest of margins.
Mott believes managing Archer's workload is going to be key. "There is a high chance that we will take risk on a proven performer [like Archer] that has done it on the world stage," Mott said.
"We are planning for him to be available. Obviously, a lot of things have to go his way, and it will be a tight timeline, but with players like that, you are going to give them every opportunity to prove their fitness, and so we will keep an open mind.
"It would be a big ask for him to play every game, so we would have to target specific ones, but we are big on ball speed for India, we feel like that’s a really important asset for us to have out there and it will be good to see Mark Wood, who had such an impact in the Ashes, do the same with the white ball."
Incidentally, England begin their 2023 World Cup campaign against the Blackcaps on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.